14 Responses to Open Thread, Sunday 4 August 2013

Meanwhile the Army is cutting back on hot meals and we still can’t get into the White House, the “People’s House” unless you’re one of the privileged.

Via Seattle Times:

Thanks to a federal program lined up by their unions, local workers laid off during the current dip in employment at Boeing Commercial Airplanes will enjoy a financial cushion that’s much, much plumper than what the average unemployed state resident gets.

“Compared to what Joe Worker gets when they get laid off, our members have a pretty extensive safety net,” said Connie Kelliher, spokeswoman for the International Association of Machinists (IAM).

The U.S. Department of Labor has approved Boeing workers — union or nonunion, production workers or engineers — laid off between April 2012 and June 2015 for a package of benefits that includes drawing unemployment pay for up to 2½ years, rather than the regular six months.

The Labor Department ruling also means that if laid-off Boeing workers need to travel, say to California, for a job interview, the government will reimburse 90 percent of the costs.

If they relocate for a new job, the government will pay 90 percent of their moving expenses and provide an additional lump-sum relocation allowance of up to $1,250.

While unemployed, they’ll also get a tax credit for nearly three-quarters of their health-care premiums. And they’re eligible for a grant of up to $25,000 toward the cost of a degree.

And for those workers over 50, if they have to take a lower-paid job after leaving Boeing, the government will provide up to $10,000 over two years in supplementary pay to make up some of the difference.
[from WeaselZippers]

Do you remember back in the day when we had a president whose main concern was keeping us safe?He was a reckless,shoot-from-the-hip cowbay and the reason the whole world hated us.Glory,how much more loved are we now that we have a worldly leader whose only thoughts are our security and putting America back to work. sarc/off
Obama Partying While Advisors Meet on Terror Threat
And his voters could care lesshttp://www.whitehousedossier.com/2013/08/04/obama-partying-advisors-meet-terror-threat/

I appreciate that!There’s a black musician in our town that calls himself Pistol Pete.Most people think my nickname is after Pete Maravich,the B-ball player.Actually,I’m an expert on vintage cap pistols,having collected and sold them for over 20 years.some of you remember when every kid in the neighborhood had a toybox full of the,right?Did anybody grow up to be a homicidal maniac because of it?No.It wastime to play and pretend.And we were smart enough to know it.Every gun show,toy show or antique show I ever sold old toys at,somebody would pick something up and comment he had one of them when he was a kid.More or less,I dealt in memories.

And that’s a good thing! Some of them were beauties.
This is a slightly different kind of cap pistol… It’s a real shame that toy cap pistols can’t even be had anymore outside of swap meets. We’re a messed up world.

Amen.I’m just sorry my kids and grandkids will never know the happiness that came with the innocence and simplicity of life back then.Teachers really did care that the students did well and you were rewarded for hard work,not punished because others were lazier than you but didn’t want their feelings hurt.The tax rate was about 3% and Dad went to work while Mom took care of the house.The phrase:’wait till your dad gets home’ really meant something.
Kids today immerse them selves in video games and the ever-present smart phones to text 10,000 times a month.We actually went out to play and had to have an imagination to play make-believe.its all do sad,I’m glad I had the chance to enjoy my youth.